Information on the American Rescue Plan Act

October 12, 2022: The Board of Selectmen are pleased to announce the second tranche of ARPA funding was received on October 4th, in the amount of $1,162,789.83. The Town of Woodstock has now obtained its complete allocation of ARPA funds, totaling $2,325,579.66

Click here to learn about the State of Connecticut's plan to distribute $30 million in grants to hospitality sector businesses that suffered financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the January 20, 2022 BOS meeting, the board voted unanimously to elect the standard allowance, as advised by the Town Auditor. Electing the standard allowance option lets towns use the amount of their ARPA funds for revenue loss. This permits the town to spend the funds on government services. The Board of Selectmen will continue to focus on the funding of those projects concerning public safety. After the board has approved projects, they are sent to the Board of Finance for final approval.

Visit the News section of the Town of Woodstock website for the most up-to-date information on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Citizens are encouraged to use the dedicated email address, arpa2021@woodstockct.gov for questions or comments. 

May 10, 2022: A list of ARPA Phase 2 proposals were presented at the May 5, 2022 Board of Selectmen meeting. The link to the list can be found below. The Board encourages residents to email arpa2021@woodstockct.gov with comments, questions, and suggestions.

April 25, 2022: The Boards of Finance and Selectmen have approved the Phase 1 Funding Obligations. The link to the list can be found below. Questions or suggestions for Phase 2 funding can be sent to arpa2021@woodstockct.gov

January 20, 2022: ARPA Community input, an overview, and more information can be found in the files listed below. These will be discussed at the January 20, 2022 Board of Selectmen meeting. See the agenda for the Zoom link.

December 14, 2021: Up-to-date community input, an overview, and the phase 1 proposed projects can all be found below in the file titled ARPA December Input, Overview, Proposal. These will be discussed at the December 16, 2021 Board of Selectmen meeting. See the agenda for the Zoom link.

December 14, 2021: Submit your ideas for use of American Rescue Plan funds to arpa2021@woodstockct.gov 

November 18, 2021: See the link below, ARPA Preliminary Ideas for Use of Funds 2 for the ideas that have come in to date and were presented at the November 18th BOS meeting.

October 27, 2021: A list of ideas that have come in from the ARPA Open Forum and the arpa2021@woodstockct.gov email address has been posted in the files below. We will be updating this list periodically as more ideas come in.

WOODSTOCK, CT, OCTOBER 13, 2021:

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST SELECTMAN: The Town of Woodstock held a Special Town meeting last night, immediately followed by an Open Public Forum to discuss American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

Two ordinances were on the agenda to be amended, and another to be rescinded. All proposed changes passed. The Ordinance Creating the Woodstock Agricultural Land Preservation and Land Acquisition Fund was amended to allow alternates to be appointed from participating boards and commissions. The Ordinance Concerning the Appointment of the Assessor was rescinded, as it is out of date and the statute that required it is no longer valid. Last, but not least, the Ordinance Regarding Tax Abatements for Dairy Farms and Fruit Orchards was amended to include different types of farms that are allowable under Connecticut General Statutes. For example, vegetable and nursery farms now qualify.

Stewart Morse, Chair of the Agricultural Commission, was happy with the support to amend the ordinance regarding Tax Abatements for Dairy Farms and Fruit Orchards. “This move recognizes the changing face of agriculture in our community."

First Selectman Swan was pleased with the turnout. “We had approximately 50 citizens attend the meetings in person, and nearly 20 via Zoom. People had the opportunity to ask questions, both in the Special Town Meeting and in the Public Forum.”

Much of the night was devoted to discussion of the ARPA funds. Finance Director Karen Fitzpatrick gave an overview that touched on where the funding comes from, eligible and non-eligible uses, and reporting. First Selectman Swan then introduced a preliminary list of funding ideas. The Board of Selectmen are working together to carefully plan the use of these funds to best benefit the town.

“It’s important to note that several of the items on this list came from Woodstock citizens reaching out to us directly through the arpa2021@woodstockct.gov email that was created for this purpose,” states Swan. “Upgrades to town recreation fields, town beach improvements, town infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and compatible self-contained breathing apparatus for one of our fire departments all came to us as suggestions.”

New suggestions were also made at the meeting, such as support for the Windham-Tolland 4-H Camp dam repair and improvements to the town-owned tennis courts.

State Representative Pat Boyd was also in attendance at both meetings. “Woodstock is working to ensure that ARPA funds are being spent wisely and to the benefit of the majority of residents, specifically causes impacted by the pandemic. It was great to see the community engagement, as people asked questions and discussed ideas that they’d like to see included as proposals for these funds.” Boyd said.

Email questions, suggestions, or comments regarding the use of ARPA funds to arpa2021@woodstockct.gov

Frequently Asked Questions, the Interim Final Rule, Federal Register, the ARPA BOS Meeting Presentation, and more can be accessed by clicking the links below.